


Unexpected

by AmyTheAuthor



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Female Slash, M/M, Male Slash, f/f - Freeform, m/m - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-04 03:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,094
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10981959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmyTheAuthor/pseuds/AmyTheAuthor
Summary: This was a request from oldmanxander on Tumblr. The original request was: “An unexpected birthday gift, maybe?” I was given permission to decide the rest. This is Harrymort (Harry x Voldemort). -- Voldemort receives an unexpected birthday gift from Harry Potter. He decides to respond. M/M Slash and some minor Luna/Ginny and Ron/Hermione mentioned.





	Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

  * For [oldmanxander](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=oldmanxander).



Lucius and his family sat around the fireplace in comfortable silence. He and his wife sat upon a loveseat that was angled just enough to face both the fire as well as their son, who sat in his own chair. Lucius had been quietly going through some Ministry documents, making changes here and there, while his wife and son read separate books. This was their usual routine as they waited for the New Year to come.

When Draco suddenly jumped out of his chair and sprinted toward the other side of the room, Lucius’s attention was taken in full. He turned his head to watch his son over his shoulder. His wife did the same.

“I knew it!” Draco shouted, as he forced the window open to allow a white owl inside. “This _is_ Potter's owl.”

“And why-” Lucius began, standing regally and dropping the forgotten papers onto his seat, “-is Harry Potter sending _you_ a letter?”

Draco was prying whatever the bird was protectively keeping inside her talons away. She was squawking at him and pecking his hands repeatedly. When he finally won, the owl seemed to settle down onto his shoulder in calm acceptance of defeat.

It was not a letter, but a small, black box, that Potter had sent. Draco was staring at it with wide eyes and an open mouth.

“Aren't you going to open it?” Lucius asked.

That seemed to shake his son out of his stupor. Slightly.

“Father...this is addressed to…” Draco looked more fearful with every passing second. “...the Dark Lord.”

“What?”

Lucius was at his son's side, snatching the box out of his hand, in an instant. He took out his wand and cast as many different detection spells upon it that he could think of to make sure it did not contain possible threats once opened.

He looked to his wife and had no doubt that the confusion he could see on her face mirrored his own.

“Draco,” she said softly, “perhaps we should withdraw for tonight. Allow your father to handle this.”

Draco did not put up a fight, which was not unusual when it concerned the Dark Lord. He walked over to her. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders protectively and began to whisper sweet things into his ear as they walked away.

Lucius watched them leave. The moment they were out the door, he strode toward the fire and tossed the box into the flames. Before it made contact, however, it was lifted into the air and hurled toward the door his family had just exited. He followed it with wide, fearful eyes. Only one person would have stopped him.

“You assume it is from Dumbledore,” Lord Voldemort said quietly, examining the box as he entered the room, “or, perhaps, The Order. Is that correct?”

His piercing red eyes looked up at Lucius, who stood frozen in place.

“Yes,” he answered. “It could be cursed.”

The Dark Lord drew his wand and Lucius paled. It was pointed only at the box though as he began to silently cast a handful of his own spells. Lucius was not surprised that his Lord had his own list of extra detection spells. They were probably of his own invention. He waited.

After a moment, Lord Voldemort was finished and twirled the harmless box in his fingers, pretending he was not acutely aware of Lucius’s every move. Lucius knew he was contemplating whether or not to torture him. Once those eyes lifted again, he spoke calmly and firmly, saying only one thing.

“Leave.”

Lucius was gone in seconds, not willing to risk his luck.

 

Voldemort twirled the box for a few more minutes while he stood before the fireplace. He debated doing as his Death Eater had intended by tossing it to its fiery demise.

Curiosity won over caution.

He removed the simple, green ribbon that was tied around it in a bow and lifted the lid. The box was styled like a ring box. In the middle, cushioned protectively, was the flat, metal carving of the head of a snake. A large, clear bead was hanging from its mouth.

He pinched and lifted it from the box, watching as a full bodied snake, about four inches in length, slowly emerged as he pulled. The small box had been charmed to hold a longer object, obviously meant to surprise the recipient of the gift with this small act of deceit. Once it was in his hand entirely, he finally recognized the metallic, flat snake, to be a bookmark. The metal was silver and the snake's eyes were genuine rubies. When his finger passed over the bead-like sphere hanging out of its mouth, it lit up with a soft blue-white light. Blue smoke swirled inside the orb in a slow and peaceful manner.

Harry Potter had sent him a glow in the dark bookmark.

A soft hoot from the snowy owl watching him from its perch above the fireplace made him look up. He had heard it land close to him, but hadn't cared enough to pay it any mind. It stuck out its leg to show him the small piece of parchment tied there. He used his free hand to retrieve it and settled into the comfortable chair (still warm from the Malfoy heir’s presence) behind him to read.

_Tom,_ it read, which made him frown.

_Happy birthday._

_Harry_

That was all the note said.

Harry Potter had sent him a birthday gift. He had never received one before. Random gifts for different reasons from Wizards and Witches hoping to gain something, yes, but never on his birthday.

He had kept his birthday a secret from everyone, even his followers. None had ever had the gumption to ask either. Not even Bellatrix. They didn't consider him entirely human -- only a ruler, a Lord. Therefore, birthdays, they had assumed, meant nothing to him.

But _this_ meant something.

What did Harry Potter hope to gain from this unexpected act of spontaneity?

Perhaps it had been Dumbledore’s suggestion. Perhaps it hadn't.

“Come out,” he called into the quiet room, keeping his gaze fixed on the new puzzle in his hands. When the boy didn't comply, Tom called louder. “Come _out._ ”

Draco Malfoy emerged from the shadows in the corner near the door. Tom had seen him sneak in and nearly trip over himself when trying to quietly hide from view to watch him. Draco was not like Lucius or his grandfather, Abraxas. He was clumsy and irritating. He was also a bigger coward than his father. It was hard to find much potential in him.

Tom looked at the trembling boy, who jerked his gaze away when their eyes met.

“Come here,” he ordered.

Draco slowly complied. Once he stood a foot in distance from the chair, he stopped.

“Answer honestly,” he ordered before asking, “What is my name?”

Draco looked confused for a moment. “You are...the Dark Lord...sir.”

“That is my title,” Tom corrected patiently. “What is my name?”

“Lord V-” Draco choked and tensed visibly. “Vol-”

“Allow me to rephrase my question,” he tried again. “Do I have a name outside of my titles as The Dark Lord and Lord Voldemort?”

Draco frowned deeply and fidgeted nervously. He didn't answer for quite some time. Tom assumed the boy had no idea what his name was. That was good. That was the main reason why he had come up with his pseudonym, “Lord Voldemort.” He had wanted everyone to forget his muggle father's name.

Tom had to assume that Harry Potter must have learned his true name from Dumbledore. How infuriating.

What was worse, he had felt a twinge of something... _unsettling_ when he had read it written on the tiny parchment in his fingers.

“Leave,” he finally told the boy, who looked as if he were going to faint because he hasn't been able to answer the Dark Lord's question.

Draco seemed shocked by the demand, but, as soon as he realized he was being let off the hook, he flew out of the room.

A quick tapping sound at the window drew Tom's gaze there. The owl was looking at him expectantly while waiting on the windowsill, hoping to be let out. Apparently Harry Potter was not expecting him to reply.

He stood and held out his elbow toward the beautiful, snowy owl. She didn't hesitate to fly to him, which was new. Most non-reptilian animals were wary of him. She didn't seem to be.

He took her down the hall to his private chambers. Once there, and he had begun writing a reply, she had opted to hop onto his desk and pick at the bowl of jerky he had forgotten about yesterday. It had originally been for Nagini. It had only taken one tongue flick to examine it and she was complaining that it did not smell enough like blood for her to enjoy it. She hadn’t tasted it at all.

He allowed the owl to indulge. At least it wouldn’t go to waste.

It took him a few minutes to scrawl his reply, roll up the small piece of parchment, and gently tie it to her leg. She had seemed to be ignoring him for her treats until she suddenly took flight and hovered overhead. He immediately noticed what it was that had startled her.

“Nagini,” Tom hissed gently in greeting.

Nagini was slowly sliding up onto the desk, watching the bird avidly. At her Master's voice, she hissed back, “Food?”

“Messenger,” Tom corrected her.

She looked at him then, slithering toward his outstretched arm, no longer interested in the animal her Master said she could not eat. Because it was their usual routine, it only took a few moments before he had the top half her body onto his shoulders and the rest of her coiling around his midsection.

Suddenly, the bird landed on his elbow. He had only been extending it out so that he may stroke Nagini’s head affectionately. Both he and his familiar jerked in surprise. She simply stared back at them.

Calmly.

“Sssstrange bird,” Nagini commented.

“Her owner is just as strange,” Tom hissed back.

Nagini was flicking her tongue at the owl. “Ssssmells like you.”

“No jealousy. I walked her into our rooms to give her my message. Nothing more. Be calm.”

“Your bird.”

Tom frowned. “She is not mine.”

“Ssssmells like you,” Nagini repeated.

Tom's frown deepened. For a moment, he stood still to think. The bird was comfortable around him. She was not afraid of Nagini. She, according to his familiar, smelled like him. At first, he suspected Dumbledore. Then an animagus. Finally, he decided to test something else. He took the small note from Harry Potter out of his pocket and asked her to tell him what it smelled like.

“Like you,” she replied again.

“Nothing else? No one else?”

Had the note even been written by a person? Perhaps this was a trap. Perhaps the gift, the box, and the note, had been conjured from magic. Dumbledore must have-

Nagini’s answer cut him off.

“Sweetess. A ssssmell that is not on your skin. Nagini is troubled.”

“Why, my pet?”

“This ssssmell is not Master. It is someone sweet who ssssmells like you.”

Tom's eyes widened. “And the bird smells the same? Like someone who smells like me?”

“Yessss. Sweetness on their skin.”

Harry Potter smelled like him, only sweeter. How strange. So the boy actually had sent the gift and no one else had touched it. Maybe Dumbledore really hadn't thought of this.

He walked the calm owl over to the window and opened it. She took off without hesitation. Tom watched her disappear into the night sky. A gentle snow was beginning to fall. Perhaps she was in a hurry to return before a blizzard.

This had turned into a strange New Years Eve. His interest in Harry Potter was piqued for entirely new reasons.

xxxxxx

Author’s Note: Comment or follow if you enjoyed it. Thanks! :) Follow me on Tumblr if you'd like. (amytheauthor.tumblr.com).

Chapter 2 sneak peek:

The Yuletide -- or, as the muggles would say, “Chistmas” -- holiday away from Hogwarts was over and, now that he finally had a moment to himself, Draco was on the prowl. He had to find Potter. What was the meaning of sending the  _Dark Lord_ a gift? Draco had seen it. A _bookmark?_ And an expensive one at that. Draco recognized it from one of the gift shops he had entered while doing his Yuletide shopping for his friends.


End file.
